Deer Hunting From a Boat

[PrinceFisher]

This is the first year I've owned a boat, and while I've been out fishing early in the morning on a couple high mountain lakes I've noticed a few pretty good bucks. These bucks were a ways from a road of any kind, which leads me to think that they've probably seen light pressure in the past from hunting. It's caused me to think that maybe it would be a good idea to try a little deer hunting from my boat this year.

I'm not looking for any secret spots or tactics, but I am curious if any of you have heard of this being done very extensively here in Utah. I've read the UDWR regulations, and they say that a hunter may shoot from a boat as long as the motor is not running and all forward progress has ceased.

If any of you have any good deer hunting stories using a boat, I'd love to hear them. I'm figuring this year that I'll spend the opening day afoot in the mountains near a honey hole that has produced for me in the past, but if I don't connect, maybe I'll spend the rest of the hunt in my boat, hunting and fishing at the same time. It's making me excited just writing about it. []
[signature]

[cat_man]

A friend of my Dad's used to go out every year to the island in Strawberry Reservoir, get out and shoot a spike or two point buck, throw it in the boat, take it back to camp and then fish Strawberry the rest of the day. He's shot one there several different years. They can't go far since they're a population that is stuck on the island. They never get very big, however. I don't know if he still does it, and I don't know if that herd is still there, but you could try that.
[signature]

[Kent]

Sorry to disagree, but those deer are not stuck on that island. Deer do just fine swimming.
[signature]

[cat_man]

Really? How bout that! I knew that moose could swim but didn't know deer could! [angelic][crazy][][cool]
[signature]

[Kent]

They also can walk off and on the island during the winter on the frozen lake.
[signature]

[PrinceFisher]

This is probably a really dumb question, but you're talking about the island that's in the mouth of the narrows, right?
[signature]

[Kent]

I assumed that you were talking about the island that is bordered by the narrows on the south, and the branch of the narrows (I don't have my Strawberry map with me, but this should communicate where I am thinking of) that includes the old Strawberry dam on the north. I have seen several deer on this island. I can't imagine that any of the other smaller islands would have deer on them very often.
[signature]

[RipNLips]

I know a few folks that have been lucky enough to draw a sheep permit for the Lake Mead area. They use the boat to find a herd and then a half dozen guys will get out, hike around with radios, binoculars, and GPS recievers, and try to put the guy with the permit on them. Works great.
[signature]